This invention relates to stroke and swing force and speed measuring devices, indicators, and the like. Such devices are used with tennis racquets, baseball bats, golf clubs, and other sports equipment to analyze swing speed and force in a variety of modes.
Baseball require players to swing a bat with sufficient speed to place a ball in play. Bat speed is directly related to the speed imparted to the baseball when it leaves the bat. Bat speed also indicates the amount of control a player has over the bat while swinging it.
It is possible for a player to xe2x80x9coverswingxe2x80x9d the baseball bat and lose control of it. Underswinging the bat will not impart sufficient velocity to the struck ball. Finally, optimal bat speed can vary from player to player depending on player size, swing plane, and hitting style. For example, a singles hitter who hits the ball on the ground through the infield needs more control than a power hitter who drives the ball to the outfield wall. These players will need to practice swinging the bat at different bat speeds to work on their games.
There are several stroke force and speed indicators in the current state of the art. U.S. patents to Guier (U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,782), Green (U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,688), Zordan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,504), and Connely (U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,546) all show sliding, noisemaking indicator means. Anderson (U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,386) and Handy et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,551) show baseball-bat-shaped devices with sliding weights. None of these devices show a standard baseball bat with a small attachment embedded in the very end of the bat, or a simplified adjustment means.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved baseball bat speed indicator that makes a distinctive sound when the desired bat speed is reached.
It is a further goal of this invention to produce a bat speed indicator that is simple to manufacture.
It is a further goal of this invention to produce a bat speed indicator that is easily adjustable by hand or with simple tools.
It is a further goal of this invention to produce a bat speed indicator that can be installed in any wooden bat with a minimum amount of labor.
The present invention is a set of simple parts that can be installed in a standard baseball bat by drilling three holes. Once the holes are drilled, a simple cylindrical magnetic mechanism, three wood screws, a ball bearing, and an adjustment knob are inserted and screwed down. The adjustment knob at the end of the bat inside the bat head allows the position of the ball bearing vis a vis the magnet to be set, determining how much swing force is needed to make the ball travel the cylinder and make a clicking sound when it strikes the and of the cylinder.